Rethinking Humanitarianism Podcast
1) No one wants to depend on aid, including refugees | Power Shift (REPLAY)
The UN has a new refugee chief: Barham Salih is the former president of Iraq. He takes over as high commissioner for refugees in January 2026. Salih may be a surprise pick. The head of UNHCR, the UN's...Show More
No one wants to depend on aid, including refugees | Power Shift (REPLAY)
1:04:54 | Dec 25th, 2025
2) International law is failing us. What now? | Rethinking Humanitarianism
When countries can commit genocide or invade neighbours with few repercussions, it's clear that international norms and laws are not working. On the podcast, three legal experts discuss the problems a...Show More
3) Who wants to be the new UN refugee chief | Rethinking Humanitarianism
The UN's high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, finishes his term at the end of the year. As with most top UN roles, picking the next UN refugee chief is far from transparent. What's differen...Show More
4) Security Council backs Trump's Gaza plan. What could go wrong? | Rethinking Humanitarianism
The UN Security Council has passed a resolution backing US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza. It authorises an "international stabilisation force", and approves a "board of peace". Essentia...Show More
5) Why emergency education saves lives | Rethinking Humanitarianism
When aid funding is tight, education is often cut first. But schools offer more than just learning, and communities say education is their priority. "We have to believe that survival means more than j...Show More
6) What's behind the COP climate circus | Rethinking Humanitarianism
The UN climate summit, COP30, is getting under way in Brazil, with global temperatures rising – and global cooperation under deep strain. Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, the UN Secretary-Genera...Show More
7) How to make people care? Emergency aid's marketing problem | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Global polls show citizens in many countries want their governments to fund humanitarian aid. But the US and other nations have gutted aid departments or shrunk budgets – with little public pushback. ...Show More
8) The global backlash on gender rights | Rethinking Humanitarianism
The backlash against women's and LGBTIQI+ rights is growing – part of an organised movement that goes beyond one country or one president. But as Saskia Brechenmacher says on the latest episode of Ret...Show More
9) The aid sector's LGBTQI+ blindspot | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Global funding cuts are worsening emergency aid's weaknesses when it comes to the LGBTQI+ community. The Trump administration is explicitly targeting trans people. And gender-related programming is am...Show More
10) UNGA Event | Dispatches from the future
Remaking humanitarianism: Dispatches from the future How can we reimagine the international humanitarian system so that it builds on – rather than undermines – the response communities are already cre...Show More